VN fresh mangos make Australian debut

HÀ NỘI — The first Vietnamese fresh mangos appeared for sale in several shops and supermarkets in Perth City, western Australia, on Wednesday.

This is the first batch of mangos that Việt Nam has exported to Australia following seven years of negotiations, becoming the second Vietnamese fruit after the litchi which has explored the Australian market after the country officially opened its doors to the Vietnamese fruit..

The mango variety being exported by the Việt Nam Agricare Company is the Cao Lãnh giant-sized mango.

To enter a demanding market like Australia, the Agricare Company has co-operated with farmers in southern Đồng Tháp Province to grow mangos under VietGap (Vietnamese good agriculture practices) and ensure they match with Australian standards. Not only mango, but other fruits will also have to meet stringent conditions on growing areas, packaging, hygiene and regulations on quarantine and food safety, as well as pest control and transportation process.

Việt Nam Consul General in Perth Phùng Thế Long said in the Nguyên Phát supermarket chain in Perth City, the Vietnamese mango had been welcomed by the Vietnamese community and the locals, even though the mango harvest season was on in Australia.

Long said Australia was currently experiencing the mango harvest season, so the consumption of the Vietnamese fruit would not be too high, but once the season ended or from February onwards, the Vietnamese mango would have better sales, with the only other mango variety imported from Mexico.

An owner of a wholesale fruit company in the Australia’s western region plans to visit Việt Nam this weekend to sign a contract to bring the Vietnamese fruit to the country’s western region.

Director of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Plant Protection Department Hoàng Trung told Việt Nam News that the Australia’s open doors for the Vietnamese fresh mango would create more opportunities for Việt Nam’s fruit growing industry to export to this market.

“After mango, the dragon fruit will be next Vietnamese fruit in line to enter the Australian market,” Trung said.

He also said the Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources had completed the draft report for the import of Vietnamese dragon fruit. The document had been sent to several relevant sectors and organisations to get suggestions before it is submitted to the government for approval.

If it is approved, the first batch of dragon fruit will be shipped to Australia in early 2017, Trung added.

Earlier, the Vietnamese fresh mango was exported to markets, including Japan, South Korea and New Zealand. It is expected to be exported to the United States in the near future. — VNS